Tillis becomes first GOP senator to call for “incompetent” Noem to step down

Washington — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Tuesday he has lost all confidence in “incompetent” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has faced intense scrutiny over a fatal shooting by immigration agents over the weekend.

“I think my position is pretty unambiguous,” Tillis told reporters. “I think she should go.”

Tillis was the first Republican to call for Noem’s ouster, though other members of his party have not been shy about criticizing the Trump administration’s response to the killing of Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse who was fatally shot by two Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Tillis, who is retiring, said his doubts about Noem go beyond her department’s handling of the immigration clampdown in Minnesota.

“I can’t think of any point of pride over the last year,” Tillis said. “She has taken this administration into the ground on an issue that we should own. We should own the issue of border security and immigration. But they have destroyed that for Republicans, something that got the president elected. They have destroyed it through their incompetence.”

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska later echoed the sentiments shared by Tillis.

“I’ve lost confidence in her,” Murkowski told reporters.”We would be better served with new leadership.”

Murkowski and Tillis are known for periodically breaking with the Trump administration. Both senators voted to confirm Noem last year, which Murkowski pointed to on Tuesday.

“I had great hopes for her in the department and I’ve been disappointed,” she said.

President Trump told reporters Tuesday that Noem is “doing a very good job” and is not stepping down, crediting her with a dramatic drop in border crossings over the last year. A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Noem “still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president of the United States.”

Asked for comment on Tillis and Murkowski’s calls for Noem to step down, the Department of Homeland Security referred CBS News to the White House, which pointed to Mr. Trump and Leavitt’s remarks expressing support for Noem.

CBS News reported earlier that Noem is facing internal scrutiny within the administration but is expected to keep her job, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Noem was at the White House on Monday and faced questions about how DHS handled the Pretti shooting and its response, sources said. Her focus is expected to shift from immigration enforcement operations in the interior of the country to securing the southern border and other priorities.

An effort to impeach Noem in the House is rapidly gaining support among Democrats, including from party leadership. But at least three Republicans would need to join every Democrat for the effort to be successful, which so far appears highly unlikely.

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